The Outcasts

The Outcasts

The Outcasts are a punk band formed in Belfast in June 1977 by the three Cowan brothers, Greg Cowan on vocals and bass, Martin Cowan on guitar and vocals, and Colin Cowan on drums, with their friend Colin “Getty” Getgood on guitar. They play punk rock with a garage edge and begin performing live two months after forming.

Early singles and line-up

The band’s early recordings include “You’re A Disease” / “Don’t Want To Be No Adult” / “Frustration” on It in 1978, which is their roughest-sounding early single. “You’re A Disease” stands out as the key track on that release, and “Frustration” is later re-recorded for the 1982 album Blood & Thunder. Another 1978 single, “Just Another Teenage Rebel” / “Love Is For Sops” on Good Vibrations, presents the band at their best, with punk rock and a pop edge. Both songs are described as classics.

Good Vibrations releases

“Just Another Teenage Rebel” / “Love Is For Sops” appears in a trademark Good Vibrations foldout poster sleeve and is issued in several different colours. A second pressing follows in early 1979 with a different cover. In 1979, “The Cops Are Comin’” is released by Good Vibrations as part of the double single package Battle Of The Bands, alongside tracks by Rudi, Spider and the Idiots. It is a dark song about killing a girlfriend and having sex with her corpse.

Later work

The Outcasts record Blood & Thunder in 1982, which includes the re-recorded version of “Frustration”.

Context

The group is identified with Irish punk, punk rock, garage rock and garage. Their earliest records place them within the Belfast punk scene of the late 1970s, with a sound that combines aggression with a pop sensibility on some of their best-known singles.